Disclaimer: I once knew a guy who claimed that he owned Zelda, but I don't own Zelda.

Chapter 2: Buying a Horse

Malon sat by the front door of her house, absentmindedly humming the song her mother taught her so long ago. She finished her chores some time ago, and was now thinking back on the last week. She felt as if she's been remembering horrible dreams this past week, yet the dreams seem as if they spanned years. I don't get these dreams. They feel so real, as if they really happened. But they couldn't, because I'm grown and all sorts of bad things happen. I'm not grown yet, and nothing bad is going to happen. Daddy runs the ranch great, and he always will. Nothing will stop that. But for some reason, her "dreams" told her otherwise.

As she thought about her dreams, they streamed through her mind. Watching armies of monsters cross Hyrule from her roof, but none going to her Ranch. Seeing smoke and fire coming out of the forests, and by the Hylian River where the Zora's lived, and other monsters fighting each other because they wanted to show how dangerous they were. She remembered caring for refugees on their way to Kakariko Village, or the lost woods. She saw herself at sixteen (A/N: two years before Link comes back) watching Gannondorf as he walked into the Ranch and announcing that he is the new King of Hyrule, then firing her father in order for Ingo to take his place. Ingo bossing her around, yelling at her, and occasionally beating her if he thought the horses weren't up to "his standards." She even had a few nightmares where Ingo tried to get fresh, but a quick knee to a certain organ and a quick climb onto the roof dispelled any thoughts of pursuit.

Then, the dreams got better when a grown version of her friend, the Fairy boy, came back to help her. He helped with a few chores, and then tried out some horses. After winning a few races in her dream – and Epona, for some strange reason – Ingo tried to stop Link from leaving, but Link escaped. In the dreams following, Talon came back and Ingo panicked. He quickly signed the deed to the ranch back to Talon, who took mercy on Ingo by letting him still work at the ranch, although he wasn't allowed to live or sleep anywhere on the ranch. This caused Ingo to sleep just outside the gates on most nights in her dreams. Fairy Boy came back a few times after that, but Malon tried not to think about those times. Mostly they involved them playing by racing horses, her singing and him playing his Ocarina, or them eating and talking. All of it was nice and innocent, but she felt a strange feeling hanging around those thoughts. It's something she never felt before, but she didn't know what it was. Finally, her last dream was of a party her and Talon threw that everyone in Hyrule attended at the ranch. The Zoras, the Gerudo, the Gorons, the Kokiri, and the Hyrulians attended it. The celebration was because they just heard that King Gannondorf was killed and the Princess Zelda was back on the throne as Queen. Zelda attended the party, of course, but the only one who didn't show up was Link. Malon felt bad about that because she remembered that, in her dream, he was hoping to find him in a secluded part of the ranch and…(A/N: I meant kissing, so don't go thinking anything funny. This is an eleven-year-olds memory, for crissakes!!).

She brushed those thoughts away thought about Ingo and Talon's reactions to these "dreams" that they, apparently, shared as well. Ingo refused to acknowledge them, claiming he would never be so crazy, greedy, or mean to do any sort of harm to either Talon or Malon. He especially emphasized that he would never do anything in any way hurtful to Malon, and refused to admit that he had any sort of dream involving Malon in any way in his entire life. Talon found it strange that they all had the same dreams, but he disregarded them as mostly fantasy conjured up by paranoia and suspicion about whether or not anyone could be trusted now that the Gerudo King, Gannondorf, suddenly vanished.

As she was thinking about this, she didn't hear a green clad boy walk into the ranch. Of course, being a Kokiri, no one could hear him unless he wanted to be heard anyway. She sat idly humming her song until a small shadow came upon her legs. She looked up and saw the person that her thoughts were drifting back to. She was so surprised that he showed up at that time that she almost stumbled over as she jumped up and dusted off her dress. "Hey, Fairy Boy," she said. " You surprised me. That is not very polite, you know." Link let a small laugh escape his lips, and Malon folded her arms behind her back. She leaned on one foot and cocked her head to one side, "So, what brings you here today on such a fine day?"

Link stared at her and smiled. He remembered how she acted when he went forward in time, and it seems she will always be the same in a few ways. He knew she had a crush on him when he was older, but Link never felt any attraction towards her. His eyes, when he was older, were on a slim, fiery blonde Sage. "Well, you know… I was just coming by to see how you've been?"

Malon blushed a little, "Oh, you know how things here are. Daddy and I take care of everything, and Ingo helps us out." Malon looked at link for a while, as if searching for something. "Hey Fairy boy, where's your Fairy?"

"Well, she and I have said goodbye." Link replied. "Hey, I was just wondering… well, I know you love Epona and all… buy can I… maybe… buy her?"

Malon was so shocked she didn't know what to say. Buy my Epona! He's trying to come and take my horse again! The last thought shocked her. She always thought of those dreams as just that: dreams. This was the first time that she actually thought of them as real. She decided to push that thought aside and answer. "I don't think you should buy Epona. You're too young to be able to properly take care of her. I don't know if you can even ride her, seeing as she only trusts me. Also, Epona is too young to be sold."

Link was about to respond when Talon stepped out of the house. He was of an average height, with a large Girth covered with blue overalls and a red shirt. The top of his head was bald - if you didn't count the bad comb-over – and the hair on the back of his head was tied into a ponytail. He ran his fingers over his thick mustache and smiled when he saw Link. "Well, hello there, Link. I thought I heard Malon talking to someone. What can we help you with? Would you like some more milk?"

Link looked at Talon and smiled. He always thought of Talon as an interesting man. He always seemed lazy, but he can really get things done when he starts something. Link admired him to an extent, because this man's whole life had a purpose. Link, on the other hand, simply needed to fulfill his destiny, and now he feels like he's unimportant. He didn't want to focus on that, so he pushed it out of his mind by saying, "Hello, sir. I was just wondering if I was able to Buy Epona from you and Malon."

Talon looked at Malon for a moment, and then began to rub his mustache thoughtfully. "Well, Epona is still too young to be sold, and I doubt she would let you ride her. Also, all my other horses are either too big or too small for you. Maybe you should come back in a year or two."

Link expected this, somewhat. He knew Malon wouldn't want to sell Epona, and Talon wouldn't do a thing to make her mad. Still, he had a bond with Epona, so he knew what he was going to do. "Alright, but may I see Epona before I go?"

"Sure," answered Malon. "I'll go bring her here to see if she'll let you pet her."

"No need," stated Link. He pulled out the Ocarina of Time, placed it to his lips, and began to play Epona's song. The smooth melody was heard throughout the ranch. Malon smiled, knowing that she taught him that song. She loved the way the song sounded coming from the Ocarina. It reminded her of when she and Link were sitting in the barn doing a duet. She was hoping that day that Link would notice the new way she did her hair, or the make-up she… No! Those were dreams! Once Link stopped playing, she looked at him as he put his instrument away. "Here she comes now."

Link stepped forward as Epona came around a corner and cantered up to him. As soon as Link raised his hand, Epona moved her neck in order for Link to pet her on the lower part of her neck. Epona loved it when Link did that, but only Link. He began to wonder whether Epona remembered anything or not, but Link figured that she did and accepted it. Malon looked scandalized because her horse treated Link more like her master more than she did Malon. I never knew she liked to be pet there. I've done that before and she never seemed as happy with me doing it as she is with him! He patted her a few times and said, "Don't worry, girl. I'll be back for you. I'm just going on a small trip until we're a little bigger."

Link thanked Malon and Talon for their time and left the ranch. He figured he would visit the forest and check up on the Kokiri, then begin wandering the forest. Talon knew he would come back, and wondered how Malon would react when Link comes back to buy Epona. Malon wasn't thinking about Epona, though. Malon was wondering about the meaning of her dreams and this rendezvous with the Fairy-less boy. Maybe she would ask the Princess. She always talked to Zelda whenever her father delivered milk. As she decided that was what she would do, she led Epona back towards the stable, the horse neighing for more memories of running through Hyrule field with a green clad friend.

A/N: I don't feel this came out as well. That's the problem with writer's block. Tell me what you think, though.

Also, I made Malon one year older on purpose, so don't criticize me about that too much (I have my reasons, although they're not important to the story).